What's the minimum salary for a 'comfortable' lifestyle?

Ectomorph · Post by **Ectomorph** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:00 pm

What's the minimum gross salary that you need to earn in Finland to live comfortably? By 'comfortably' I mean above impoverished student level, with enough spare cash to have the odd evening out. Nothing too extravagant.

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Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:10 pm

Depends a bit where you live, how you live, how you move, if you are single, if you have any debts, and what you do on your nights out...

Rest assured all the money generally just "dissapears"

I was living better as an "impoverished student" than after getting a job...

alloydog · Post by **alloydog** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:11 pm

Ectomorph wrote:What's the minimum gross salary that you need to earn in Finland to live comfortably? By 'comfortably' I mean above impoverished student level, with enough spare cash to have the odd evening out. Nothing too extravagant.

Well, five years back, my missus managed to keep herself, three small kids, and buy a small apartment whilst taking home around FIM 7 000 a month. But that was living 20 odd km out of Oulu.

It depends where you live, but in my missus's case, I guess she would need to clear about EUR 1 300 these days for the same situation.

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 8:46 pm

1200 after tax sees us 2+ 2y6mnth kid through the months. just. and that's watching all the prices, no beer, no trips to helsinki for parties etc.

so, i'd personally say 1600 or more is comfortable, but you'd then need income of 2500 or so to get it and that would then probably be possible in the sticks.
helsinki's more expensive and with better wages, but you really need to both work.

Bret

alloydog · Post by **alloydog** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 9:16 pm

One thing that's laughable. A neighbour of mine is a CA manager at Nokia.. He told me that they get kids straight out of Uni, with mediocre degrees, asking for in excess of EUR 4 000 a month !

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 10:21 pm

Well, they'd apply to Nokia in the USA they'd probably get 6000 a month...

teme · Post by **teme** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 11:11 pm

Let me put it this way, assuming I was single:
- 400 - 500 a month for an apartment in the city
- 200 - 300 food, etc. (if I had to I could cut this in half easily)
- 100 books, magazines, net connection
- 100 clothes, etc. (off the top of my head, I really have no idea)
- 200 -300 Bar bill, eating out (twice a week)
- 100 - 200 this and that, including public transport.
- 100 cigarettes

Which adds up to 1200 - 1700 a month. Then again it was not that long ago that I got by with about 500 after rent, and I don't remember being particullary frugal or uncomfortable. Some examples of what the kind of things I do cost:
- lunch 6 - 8 (something off lunch menu, and I usually just drink water)
- meal at a good restaurant 15 (for example salmon soup and a glass of white wine or a pint of beer at Elite or Kuu)
- take-away 5 - 10
- for a full dinner for two in someplace nice, about 50
- movie ticket 10
- swimming at Yrjönkatu spa, 2 - 4
- cyclling around town, free as such of course, but if I count what I spent on the hobby it averages at about 100 a year.
- museum, exhibitions, etc. 0 - 10
- cup of coffee 1 - 2
- couple pints, 6 - 10
- full night out, 30 - 500, the latter is the bill that my friend insists on picking up at Torni's American Bar (best in the town, 15 euros a drink...)

bretti_kivi · Post by **bretti_kivi** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 11:12 pm

4k is highish but doable in germany....directly out of uni is pushing it - tho give it a couple of years, and no problem. the mean sysadmin salary last year was 47k with peaks in frankfurt of double that. i'm good but not that expensive

the offers here are generally 60% of my german salary and all <3k.

despite 7 years experience and usable skills....

Bret

teme · Post by **teme** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 12:05 am

bretti_kivi wrote:4k is highish but doable in germany....directly out of uni is pushing it - tho give it a couple of years, and no problem. the mean sysadmin salary last year was 47k with peaks in frankfurt of double that. i'm good but not that expensive

the offers here are generally 60% of my german salary and all <3k. despite 7 years experience and usable skills....

Bret

Well... for example, according to ITViikko, average pay in IT at Helsinki is little under 4k (http://www.itviikko.fi/tutkimukset/.) It is about 3k in rest of the country. For another example, wages for dippa (masters degree in tech) hits 4k on average with 7 years of experiene and on mean with 9 years (see the chart at page 3 of http://www.tek.fi/tyo_ura/palkat/palkat ... 03osa2.pdf shows the monthly salary in relation to year of graduation in Helsinki and rest of the country, private sector and public sector.)[/img]

teme · Post by **teme** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 12:20 am

One more thing, the bloke asked a simple question, so here is a simple answer. Your average Joe, say a construction worker, grosses about 2500 a month in Helsinki. After taxes and mandatory pension payments that's about 1800, which is very well if your single, and OK if you have kids I guess.

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